Prisoner receives $15.5 million settlement over 22-month confinement

New Mexico – A neglected prisoner has been given a $15.5 million settlement after being placed in solitary confinement in a New Mexico jail for 22 months. As reported by NBC News, Stephen Slevin, whose mental and physical health were stated to have significantly declined while he was confined, was initially awarded $22 million by a jury but reached a settlement with Dona Ana County after the county appealed.

Slevin was arrested in 2005 and held while not being taken to see a judge and transferred to solitary confinement without explanation. He purportedly suffered inhumane treatment while confined including being forced to pull out his own tooth, according to his Albuquerque based lawyer, Matt Coyte.

Coyte is quoted in the report as stating of the case, “His mental health has been severely compromised from the time he was in that facility. That continues to be the same. No amount of money will bring back what they took away from him… But it’s nice to be able to get him some money so he can improve where he is in life and move on.”